Basketball

Ginebra got fired up by 16-point collapse to Rain or Shine

ABS-CBN Sports on May 22, 2017 10:19 AM

ONE STEP BACK, TWO STEPS FORWARD. Ginebra was not going to let itself suffer a meltdown two games in a row.

Up against the erstwhile league-leaders in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Ginebra started strong and finished even stronger.

The Gin Kings raced out to a 31-15 start and then a 38-18 lead early in the second quarter before Justin Brownlee took charge in the endgame for a final score of 107-99 in their favor.

Nothing but satisfied with the wire-to-wire win, coach Tim Cone said post-game, “That definitely was good perseverance from our guys tonight. Much better than we did again Rain or Shine.”

He then continued, “We blew leads against Rain or Shine. Tonight, we blew leads as well, but managed to keep it.”

Last Friday, Cone and company lost to the Elasto Painters.

Then, they led by as much as 14 in the first half and had an advantage of 16 in the third quarter only to be taken down by Rain or Shine and reinforcement Duke Crews in the endgame. “That was a winnable game for us. So our guys were motivated and were ready to come out and play tonight,” Cone said.

Indeed, a 31-point first quarter was all that was needed to show how determined the Gin Kings were to bounce back. “I could feel even yesterday that we were motivated after Rain or Shine, that they (the players) were upset about the loss to Rain or Shine,” Cone expressed.

The multi-titled mentor then went on to single out their American import who yet again proved to be one of the most capable closers in the league today. “Justin just made big shots, big defensive plays down the stretch. That’s been his (modus operandi) for us,” he said.

He then continued, “He was upset at himself after the Rain or Shine game because he felt he took a bad shot at the end. He certainly made up for it tonight.”

For Brownlee, there was no way Ginebra was going to suffer a meltdown two games in a row. “We were definitely motivated. We showed great character to be able to bounce back,” he said.